Thoughts from the interface of science, religion, law and culture

After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Thom Hartmann Show, and is almost certain that he is the only person ever to make fun of Chuck Norris on C-SPAN.

EVENTS

‘We Can’t Expect God to Protect Us in a Crisis’

The Worldnutdaily is still working overtime to raise money to keep Joseph Farah’s Ten Commandments billboard campaign going. He says the intent is to “prick the conscience” of the country, starting with Las Vegas (yeah, good luck with that). And in their latest faux article on the subject, they offer this quote:

What is happening to our beloved nation? Why aren’t Christians winning the battle for hearts, souls and freedom in America?

In 1982, then-President Ronald Reagan warned, “We can’t expect God to protect us in a crisis and just leave Him over there on the shelf in our day-to-day living. I wonder if sometimes He isn’t waiting for us to wake up, He isn’t maybe running out of patience.”

America has turned from God and has forgotten right from wrong.

The quote really should have stopped after the first clause. We can’t expect God to protect us in a crisis, full stop. And the truth is that they don’t really believe this either. Reagan didn’t expect God to protect us, he spent trillions on defense for that purpose. The Pentagon doesn’t have any conflict scenarios or contingency plans that assume divine intervention at any point. That’s why I always laugh when the wingnuts talk about God “lifting his hand of protection” from us. This God they believe in seems to behave in a manner that is entirely indistinguishable from a non-existent deity.

The whole idea of “trusting in god” refutes the idea that the believer has agency or much in the way of free will. Whenever some religious person says something about “trusting in god” to me I ask them why they do anything, at all, ever, instead of just sitting there quivering in terror to see what god has in store for them next? The best part of trusting in god is the end-game: he’ll make sure you die so he can decide whether or not to consign you to an eternity of boredom or torment. God’s a real bucket of chuckles like that.

Apparently, the protection god provides happens only after the crisis. If you survived, if your family, pets, and possessions are OK, then god protected you. If you died or were injured or your house got blowed up in the tornado or your airplane crashed, well, you weren’t making your weekly payoffs to the big guy. Funny how the religious loud mouths are never able to determine who gets whacked and who gets a pass until later.

Reagan didn’t expect God to protect us, he spent trillions on defense for that purpose.

Of course Reagan did. You don’t go to war with the god you want, you go to war with the god you have, to mangle a phrase.
Reagan went with that he had. God’s protection, you see, is as accurate as His punishment. He might aim to protect the USA and accidentally protect, say, Lithuania or Uruguay instead.

Crip Dyke, MQ, Right Reverend Feminist FuckToy of Death & Her Handmaidensays